Tyrick Mitchell's Impact as Crystal Palace Builds Momentum
Tyrick Mitchell steps forward as Sage chases momentum
Crystal Palace arrive at Saturday’s meeting with Ipswich with something they have not felt much of in 2024: a little wind at their backs.
Pierre Sage finally has his first Premier League win as Palace head coach, that breathless 3-2 victory at Fulham, and a Carabao Cup success at Middlesbrough to go with it. Two wins, the same pattern. Palace taking the points while the opposition see more of the ball.
Sage has not tried to dress it up. At Craven Cottage he admitted he was “disappointed for the other team and the coach, they had opportunities too”. After edging past Boro, he struck the same note, calling them “a really good team” and insisting: “I want to congratulate them – the score is for us, but they played well.”
The Frenchman’s courtesy is genuine, but the next step is clear. Compliments are fine; he now needs control. And, crucially, back‑to‑back league wins for the first time this calendar year.
A brittle defence, unlikely heroes
That ambition bumps up against an awkward truth. Palace’s defence has been leaking. Two or more goals conceded in nine straight Premier League games – a club record they would happily erase from history.
Yet at Fulham, it was the defenders who dragged them over the line.
Tyrick Mitchell, usually the quieter full-back in a side that leans heavily on the buccaneering runs of Daniel Muñoz on the opposite flank, suddenly took centre stage. Unshackled from the more conservative demands he often faced under Oliver Glasner, Mitchell surged forward and produced the first double of his career.
Then came the twist. Mitchell went off, Ben Chilwell came on, and the substitute promptly hit the winner. A backline under scrutiny turned match-winner, twice over.
Those moments matter. They hint at a different dimension in this Palace side under Sage: defenders trusted to decide games, not just survive them.
Sage’s next test
For all the praise he has offered opponents, Sage knows the numbers. Palace cannot keep asking their forwards – or indeed their wing-backs – to outscore what the defence gives away.
Ipswich, newly promoted and desperate to avoid a third straight defeat, will sense vulnerability. Palace, just beginning to feel a spark of momentum, will sense an opening.
Mitchell’s emergence as a genuine attacking threat gives Sage another weapon. If Palace can pair that with a tighter rearguard, Saturday could mark more than just another home game.
It could be the day this team stops apologising for winning and starts looking built to do it again.
